Automatic ice cube release



\ June Z3, 1936. J. ROBERTS 2,045,371

l A AUTOMATIC IC E CUBE RELEASE Filed Dec. 9, 193:5

. u 4 il' ill, in] l ATTQRNEY Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES#vAUTOMATIC 10E CUBE RELEASE Julius' Roberts, Brooklyn, N. Y. ApplicationDecember 9, 193s. sei-m No. 101,602

9 claims. (ci. s2- 16am` yvention'is very rapid and requires L,verylittle My invention relates to means for automatically releasing icecubes from a grid. In household refrigerators of the type operated byelectrical or gas means foikeepingihe refrigerator cold, asdistinguished from the ordinary ice box which is cooled by ice suppliedthereto, it is common practice to provide one or more receptacles calledtrays, which are placed within the absorption coil for the purpose offreezing water or other liquids in the tray into ice cubes for varioususes. It has been customary to divide off the interior of the tray bymeans of a device commonly called a grid, in order to forma number ofcubes in one tray to provide cubes of convenient sizes. It has proven tobe a diilicult problem to free the frozen cubes from the tray and gridand thoughvthe problem would appear to be a simple one, neverthelessuntil the present invention the problem has not been successfully met.

One plan has been to make the tray or the grid or both of flexiblematerial, such as rubber or rubber composition, so that after the cubeshave been frozen in the tray, the tray or grid or both could be flexedor bent to release the cubes. While this is not entirely successful asfar as easily releasing the cubes is concerned, and aside from the factthat the cubes are apt to fall on the floor during thereleasingwoperation, the most serious disadvantage of this method isthat'the rubber or rubber composition is an emcient insulator andtherefore it prevents the absorption coil from rapidly absorbing theheat from the liquid in the tray and therefore the cubes cannot beformed nearly as rapidly as in a metal tray having a metal grid.

Where vmetal trays and /grids have been used it has been the practice toapply some degree of heat, such as by pouring water, generally warm orhot, over the inverted tray to soften the cubes where they adhere to thetray and grid so that the cubes may be released. 'I'his is obviously anunhandy and unsatisfactory method.

'The object of my present invention is to provide a tray and grid whichmay'be made of material Which'will not prevent the rapid absorption ofheat like the rubber trays and grids referred to above, so that thecubes may be rapidly frozen. Preferably, the tray and the grid are madeof metal. The broad feature of my invention resides in making the grid,whatever its shape and its construction may be. in parts which may beseparated or moved in relation to each other in order to break theadhesion of the cubes to the' tray or grid, or both.' and thus releasethe cubes.

This operation may be accomplished completely without subjecting thetray or grid to the action of water or other partial warming as aboveset forth, as there is no partial melting of the cubes' required torelease them.

The release of the cubes under the present inl 2-2 of Figure l,

' the refrigerator.

shown as consisting of a bottom wal12, and side effort. One of the broadfeatures of my invention is the fact that the relatively movablesections of the grid can be -movedlr to release the cubes by simplemeans operating on the broad principle of leverage in order that theforce necessary to overcome the adhesion and pressure of the cubes maybe conveniently applied.

As has been stated above, the grid is made .of at least two parts whichare relatively movable and they are preferably completely separable fromeach other.

The grid may be completely detachable from the tray, as it is in thepreferred form, in order that the interior of the tray may becomeentirely unobstructed so that it may be used for other purposes such asfor making ice cream therein. Or, one section of .the grid may beattached to the tray, whereas another section is removable. I have shownin the drawing of this application both forms of the invention.

The relatively movable sections of the grid have surfaces in contactwith the liquid in the tray and with the cubes when frozen and it is bya relative movement of the sections of the grid that PATENT REISSUED l'Y 00T 1'- 1940 the adhesion of the cubes is overcome to release thecubes.

`Another object of my invention is to provide a grid of relativelymovable sections having ns,

which are tapered in thickness with the thickermost portions at the topand the thinner portions at the lower part, so that the opposedsurfacesof the fins will not be parallel. This assists in releasing the cubesfrom 'the grid when one section is lifted in relation to the other.

Other objects and advantages will be set forth in the following detaileddescription of my invention.

In the drawing forming part of this application,

Figure 1 is a plan view of an ice cube tray havlng the improved grid inplace for operation.,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on'f the line Figure 3 is aperspective view of a tool for separating the grid sections,

Figure 4- is a perspective view of the grid sections separated, in oneform ofthe invention,

Figure 5 is a cross sectionalfview of the tray and grid,v

Figure 6 is a plan view of part of a tray and grid and showing myinvention in a modified form, and v Figure 'I is a longitudinalsectional view thereof.

The improved grid may be applied to anyv type of receptacle in which icecubes are to be frozen and in the drawing I have shown the ordinaryformof cube tray generally used in refrigerators and which is placed insidethe absorption coilof Invthe drawing the trayl is and end walls 3, 4,the latter having their upper ends turned or rolled at 5. In the form ofthe invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, which I will first describe, thetray has one large compartment 6 to hold the liquidwhich is to befrozen. The purpose of the grid is to divide this compartment olf into anumber of smaller compartments so that instead of forming one large bodyof ice there will be formed a number of smaller bodies called cubes.This term cubes is used in the broad sense to include pieces of anyshape, whether cubical, oval or any other shape.

The grid forming the subject of this invention is composed of relativelymovable, preferably separable sections, each of which has surfaces incontact with the liquid and in contact with the tubes when frozen. Iwill describe the preferred form of grid in detail but with theintention of covering all forms which come within the scope of theappended claims.

In .the form of the grid shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive there are twoseparable sections, both of which may be lifted out of the tray to leavethe latter unobstructed to permit it to be used, when desired.. forother purposes, such as for freezing ice cream therein.

As shown in the drawing there is an upper section 'l and a lower section8.

The latter is shown as a plate or strip of metal having a longitudinalsection 9 the lower edge of which may rest on the upper surface of thebottom wall 2 of the tray for the purpose of dividing olf the lowerportion of the compartment 6 longitudinally. The lower member is shownextending upwardly at the ends I0 and these end extensions are1 shown asprovided with laterally extending pinsV Il for a purpose which will beexplained hereinafter. In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1to 5, this lower grid member rests against the bottom and the end wallsof the tray and it is removable from the tray.

The upper or second grid section I comprises in part the longitudinalmember I2 which also extends lengthwise of the tray; and when the partsare assembled as when the cubes are being frozen, the member I2 lies inthe same vertical plane as the member 9 and is contiguous therewith.Along the member I2 are a number of fins I3, the number and spacing ofwhich depends upon the size of the cubes to be made. These ilns areshown as disposed at right angles to the longitudinal member I2 andprojecting from opposite sides thereof. These fins may be made integralwith the longitudinal member I2 or they may be welded, or soldered, orotherwise attached thereto, as desired.

The fins extend laterally from the longitudinal member I2 and their freeends I4 extend far enough to lie in contact with or near the innersurfaces ofthe side walls of the tray. The longitudinal member I2 isshown as provided with laterally extending pins I5 disposed near thepins I I when the grid is assembled. I prefer to make the several finsof tapered thickness, as show n in Figure 2. That is, the fins arethicker at their top edges I6 and gradually decrease in thickness totheir bottom edges I'I, so that when the upper grid section is raised,the surfaces of the fins will be released fron. the correspondingsurfaces of the cubes more readily than if the fins were not tapered.

The endmost fins are shown as having only one surface, i. e., the innersurface I8, tapered, whereas the outer surfaces are shown asperpendicular.

The several ilns are shown as provided with vertical slots I9 extendingupwardly from their bottom edges to the bottom line of the longitudinalmember I 2. These slots permit the lower grid member 8 to extendupwardly in the ns so that when the grid is assembled the lower member 8will lie contiguous to the longitudinal member I2 and the two will forma complete longitudinal dividing wall for the tray.

From the above it will be apparent that when the grid sections areassembled and placed in the tray they divide off the interior of thetray into a number of individual cube compartments 20, there being tworows of such compartments shown in Figure 1, on opposite sides of themembers 8 and I2. l

In Figure 3 I have shown a convenient tool which may be used forseparating the sections of the grid after the` cubes have been frozen.The tool is shown as made of a rod bent into U shape to form the handle2I to be gripped in the hand; and of the parallel shanks 22, terminatingin the prying tips 23 which are shown as bent slightly from the line ofthe shanks. I have shown a filling piece 24 riveted between the shanks22 to hold these properly spaced so that the shanks may straddle thelongitudinal member I2 and the extensions IIJ.

Operation- The operation of this form of my invention will be asfollows:

The grid may be assembled by inserting the member 8 so that the part 9thereof extends upwardly into the several slots I9 of the fins, with theupper edge of the member 9 resting against the bottom edge of the memberI2. The grid, as thus assembled, may be inserted into the tray so thatthe members 9 and I2 forma longitudinal dividing wall lying in avertical plane within the tray and the several fins I3 form lateralpartitions dividing the compartment 8 of the tray into a plurality ofsmaller compartments the .size of the individual cubes which are to befrozen. The liquid, whether water or other material, which is to befrozen into the cubes, may be placed in the tray before or after thegrid has been placed therein and the liquid may be of any depth,preferably about the level of the lower edge of the member I2 orslightly above the same. A cover may be applied to the tray or not, asdesired.

The tray may be inserted into the rack inside the absorption coil of therefrigerator (not shown) in order that the heat of the body of liquidmay be absorbed by the absorption coil for the purpose of freezing theliquid vin the tray into a solid. Where the tray and grid are made ofmetal, heat may be rapidly extracted from the liquid so that it is veryrapidly frozen, whereas when the grid or tray or both are made of rubberor rubber composition the time required for freezing the cubes isconsiderably greater than with the present device.

The tray and grid will be allowed to stand in the absorption coil rackuntil the liquid in the tray has been reduced to a frozen condition, oruntil individual cubes have formed in the several compartments. When thecubes have been sufliciently formed, the tray will be removed from therefrigerator and the operator will proceed to release the cubes by arelative movement of the sections of the grid. g

A tool such as that shown in Figure 3 is applied to the grid by havingthe lower ends of the shanks 22 straddle the members I0 and I2 of thegrid, as shown at the right in Figure 2. In this position the backs ofthe shanks 22 will rest against the pins II on the lower section of thegrid and the forward surfaces will rest under the pins I5 which areattached to the grid member I2. If only one end of the grid is tol belifted at a time, one such tool may be applied, as shown in Figure 2,but it is preferable to use a second tool like that shown in Figurev3,an d to apply it to the left hand end of the grid in Figure 2 in thesame manner as the tool is applied to the right hand in this g'ure. Inother words, a tool will be manipulated in each hand so that at bothends the grid will be acted upon by these lever members.

The handle portions of the tool or tools will be pressed downwardly whenengaged with the grid,

as shown in Figure 2, and the tendency of the tool will be to pressdownwardly on the pins II while the ends 23 pry upwardly on the pins I5and the leverage is such that considerable force may be applied toseparate the grid members. This action will serve to force the gridsection 1 upwardly and away from the lower grid section 8 and the tray,and it will overcome the adhesion of the 1 several cubes to the grid andto the tray. Preferably, the section 1 of the grid is entirely removedfrom the tray and when this has been done the several cubes will remainin the tray and will be released from the grid and the walls oi' thetray. Occasionally one or more cubes will lift up with the grid section1 but if merely tapped lightly it will fall from the grid section 1 backinto the tray.

It will be noted that the surfaces of the cubes will be in contact withthe side walls and bottom walls of the tray as well as with the sidesurfaces of the member 8 and with the opposite surfaces.

of the several ilns I3.

If the water level is above the top edge of the member 8 the cubes willalso be in contact with the member I2. The device is so designed ,thattheportion of the grid which is first moved, that is, the section 1, hasa total area of contact with the cubes the same or nearly the same asthe area oi' contact of the walls of the tray and the member 8 with thecubes. Therefore, if the member 1 is moved away from the member 8 andthe walls of the tray, the adhesion between the cubes and the variouswalls described above will be overcome by the force applied to move theupper section After the upper section 1 has been moved in relation tothe lower section 8 of the grid and the tray, itis preferably liftedentirely out of the tray and then the section 8 may also be lifted fromthe tray, leaving the detached cubes in the tray from which they may beindividually removed or dumped out by inverting the tray, or disposed ofin any other manner.

By employing a device acting on the lever principle for prying thesections of the grid apart, the force necessary may be convenientlyapplied by the operator. rIf two tools such as shown in Figure 3 aresimultaneously applied at opposite ends of the grid, ample force may beapplied to quickly separate the sections of the grid. By tapering thesurfaces of the ilns in the manner above described, there is a tendencyfor the fins to be released from adhesion to the corresponding surfacesof the cubes, so that the grid sections may lbe separated with theapplication of less force than if the surfaces of the fins wereperpendicular and parallel. In order to make the adhesion of the cubesto the lower member 8 and to the surfaces of the walls of the tray equalto or slightly greater than the adhesion to the upper section 1 of thegrid, I have shown the member 9 tapered in thickness with the greaterthickness at the top edge and the lesser thickness at the bottom edge ofthis member.

It will be noted that in the operation of the grid sections the lowermember 8 remains in the tray while the grid sections are beingseparated. As the member 8 remains in the tray until the upper sectionis separated from it, the taper and thickness of the member 9 will havethe eiect of preventing the ice cubes from rising when the section 1 islifted, in order to insure the breakingof the adhesion of the cubes tothe section 1 of the grid, as the latter is lifted. While the tapering'of the tins in the manner described above and the tapering of themember 9 is preferable, neither of these features is vital to theoperation of my invention.

In the form of my invention shown inv Figures 6 and 7 the grid iscomposed, in part, of a lower member 26 which in this construction issecurely attached to the tray by means of soldering, Welding or by beingmade integral with the tray, instead of being removable as is the member8 in the previous construction. The member 26 therefore, forms apermanent longitudinal dividing wall within the tray. The top or movablegrid section 21 is composed of the longitudinal member 28 of the member26 and it stands in the same plane l with the latter and is contiguousthereto.

The :5

iins 29 in this construction are mounted upon or s formed integral withthe longitudinal member 28 similar to the fins in. the firstconstruction; and preferably they are tapered in thickness in the samemanner as the fins I3. In this form of the invention the longitudinalmember 28 at each end is provided with the laterally extending pin 38.The ns 29 will be provided with vertical slots corresponding with theslots I9 in the previous form, so that the lower grid member 26 isreceived in these slots.

'I'he operation of this device is very similar to the first describedform. The upper grid section,

consisting of the longitudinal member 28 and the viins 29, is placed inthe tray so that the member 28 rests on the top edge of the member 26and the lower portions of the fins straddle the latter member. Theliquid is placed in the tray to iill the various cube compartments toany desired level, preferably to the top edge of the member 26 orslightly above the same. y'Ihe tray will be inserted into the absorptioncoil of the refrigerator the same as in the first form of the device andwill remain there until the liquid has been frozen, after which the traywill be removed from the-refrigerator and the operator will proceed torelease the cubes.

To do this the tool shown irl- Figure 3 may be placed so that the backof the tool rests against the top edge of the tray and the front 0f themembers 28 engage under the projections 30. By pressing the handleportion of the lever downwardly, the members 23 will pry upwardly on theprojections 30 and force the upper section o f the grid away from thelower section and the tray. 'I'his action will release the cubes byovercoming their adhesion to the tray and to the several sections of thegrid. When the upper section of the grid has been removed from the tray75 and from the lower section the cubes will remain in the tray althoughone or more may be lifted with the upper section of the grid, but suchcubes can be readily detached by tapping them lightly. In this form ofmy invention I prefer to taper the fins of the grid the same as in theprevious construction, but the lower grid member 26 is preferably nottapered in this form of the invention because this grid member remainsattached to the tray and it might tend to lock the cubes Within thelower grid member.

From the above it will be apparent that I have provided a grid for icecube trays of such a character that the cubes may be automaticallyreleased upon the separation of the sections of the grid, thereby makingthe release of the cubes a very simple operation. It is not necessary tofollow the particular form of grid which I have illustrated anddescribed, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimshereunto annexed.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1. A grid for ice cube trayscomprising relatively movable sections, said sections each having alongitudinal dividing member, said dividing members adapted to lie in acommon plane within the tray, said grid having lateral fins carried byone of said dividing members and being of such depth as to project overthe longitudinal member of the other grid section to partition theinterior of said tray, the sections -of said gn'd being relativelymovable to permit said longitudinal members to be separated.

2. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower section adapted to'forma longitudinal dividing member in a tray, an upper section including alongitudinal member adapted to lie in a common plane with said lowermember, laterally extending fins on the longitudinal member of saidupper grid section, said ns extending below the bottom of saidlongitudinal member and having slots extending upwardly from the bottomthereof to receive said bottom section therein, said grid sections beingrelatively movable to permit the cubes to be released therefrom.

3. A grid for ice cube trays includingl a lower section adapted to forma longitudinal, vertical dividing member in a tray, said member beingtapered in thicknessy with the thicker portion at the top and thethinner portion at the bottom thereof, an upper section including alongitudinal member adapted to lie in a common plane with said 4lowermember, laterally extending fins on the longitudinal member of saidupper grid section, said fins extending below the bottom of saidlongitudinal member of the upper section and having slots extendingupwardly from the bottom thereof to receive said bottom section therein,said grid sections being relatively movable to permit the cubes to bereleased therefrom.

4. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower section comprising avertical wall having upwardly extending ends provided with engagingmembers, an upper grid section having a longitudinal member co-operatingwith said lower member and having engaging members 'on the ends thereof,said grid having laterally extending fins and a prying tool havingspaced members adapted to straddle said longitudinal members and toengage said abutment members on the grid sections to cause a relativemovement of said grid sections.

5. The combination of an ice cube tray and a grid therefor, said gridincluding a lower section adapted to form a longitudinal dividing memberin said tray, an upper section adapted to be moved upwardly in relationto said lower section While the grid is in the tray, said upper sectionincluding a longitudinal section having lateral iins projecting belowthe longitudinal member of said upper section and having slots extendingupwardly from the bottom thereof to receive therein the longitudinalmember of said bottom section, said longitudinal portion of the uppersection co-operating with said lower section to divide the interior ofthe tray longitudinally, said tray and grid being so designed that theadhesion of the cubes to said upper grid section will be equal orsubstantially equal to the combined adhesion of the cubes to both saidlower grid section and said tray.

6. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower section adapted to forma longitudinal dividing member in a tray, an upper section including alongitudinal member having lateral ns and (zo-operating with said lowermember to divide the interior of the tray into individual cubecompartments, said ns projecting below the longitudinal member of' theupper section and having slots extending upwardly from the bottom of thefins to receive therein the longitudinal member of the bottom section,both grid sections lying unattached in said tray, and lever means actingdirectly on said grid sections to cause a relative movement of 'saidgrid sections.

7. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower section adapted to form'a longitudinal vertically disposed dividing member in a tray, an uppersection including a longitudinal member having laterally extending ns,said fins extending below the bottom of said second longitudinal memberand having slots extending upwardly from the bottom thereof to receivesaid bottom section therein, said grid sections being relatively movableto permit the cubes to be released therefrom.

8; A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower section adapted to forma longitudinal vertically'O disposed dividing member in a tray, an uppersection including a longitudinal member adapted tc lie in a common planewith said lower member whereby said longitudinal members constitute asingle vertical wall and laterally extending ns on the longitudinalmember of said upper grid section, said ns extending below the bottom ofsaid longitudinal member.

9. A grid for ice cube trays including a lower section adapted to form alongitudinal dividing member in a tray, an upper section including alongitudinal member having lateral fins and cooperating with said lowermember to divide the interior of the tray into individual cubecompartments, said upper and lower sections being relatively movableWithin the tray, and lever means arranged to press downwardly on saidlower grid section and upwardly on said upper grid section to cause arelative movement of said grid sections.

JULIUS ROBERTS.

